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If I can make it there New York welcomes a streamlined, star-studded Goodwill Games
Posted: Friday July 17, 1998 09:26 PM
NEW YORK (CNN/SI) -- The Goodwill Games were launched in 1986 to ease the tensions of the Cold War. Twelve years later, the Soviet Union has collapsed but the Goodwill Games are still around, with the fourth installment of Ted Turner's brain child beginning this weekend in New York. It has not been easy road for the Goodwill Games, which debuted in Moscow, moved to Seattle in 1990 and then to St. Petersburg, Russia in 1994. Turner began the Olympic-style games in response to the boycotts of 1980 and 1984 and his long-term vision had his games one day rivaling those of the traditional Olympic Games. But a more modest event awaits fans in the Big Apple who will watch the competition that begins Sunday and concludes on August 2nd. The Goodwill Games features just 15 sports -- down from 24 in 1994 -- but with an impressive roster of 1,500 athletes from 60 nations. "The Games have grown in stature, and I think they have, in their way, contributed to many positive changes around the world," said Turner. Ticket sales, however, have been sluggish. Those in attendance will watch an impressive collection of world class athletes at venues spaced throughout the New York area. Long Island will host most of the events, with the track and field and women's soccer competition at the brand-new Nassau County Mitchell Athletic Complex. A new facility also was constructed in Nassau County to host the swimming and diving competition. Nassau Coliseum, home of the NHL's Islanders, will play host to the gymnastics and figure skating events. Madison Square Garden in New York City will host the boxing and basketball competition and beach volleyball will take place at Central Park. Staten Island will house the cycling competition. Goodwill Games organizers have promised US$5 million in prize money, with a chunk headed to star track athletes such as Michael Johnson, Dan O'Brien and Donovan Bailey. Johnson, however, announced he will not try to duplicate gold in the 200 and 400 meters, the events he won in dramatic fashion in Atlanta. Johnson announced that lingering injuries will allow him to compete in just the 400 along with the 1,600 relay. Track experts are calling the Goodwill Games one of the best meets of the summer and it will include 18 gold medalists from Atlanta, including O'Brien, the current world champion who will return to defend his 1994 decathlon title. The best of the track events will likely be the men's 100 between Canada's Bailey, the world record holder, and American Maurice Greene, the 1997 world champion who is on the verge of becoming track's next superstar. Gymnastics will occupy Nassau Coliseum for the opening week of the Goodwill Games. While some Atlanta medalists have sought riches on the professional circuit, the Goodwill roster will include Dominique Dawes and Dominique Moceanu, two members of the 'Magnificent 7' U.S. gold medal-winning women's team. Aleksei Nemov, a six-time medalist at Atlanta, is the marquee competitor in men's gymnastics. Figure skating takes over Nassau Coliseum for the final days of the Goodwill Games, and the spotlight will be on, among others, Michelle Kwan and Todd Eldredge of the USA and perennial Russian contenders Irina Slutskaya, Maria Butyrskaya and Alexei Urmanov. The USA basketball roster is stocked with collegiate players, but is still the class of the field that will include defending Goodwill Games champion Puerto Rico. Khalid El-Amin of Connecticut, Utah's Andre Miller and Duke's Elton Brand headline the American squad. The Americans open against defending gold medalist Puerto Rico on Sunday. The U.S. team, which has struggled in recent international amateur competitions, has won medals in each of the three previous Goodwill Games. The Americans took gold in 1986, silver in 1990 and bronze in 1994. Cubans are expected to dominate the boxing competition with a roster that includes two-time Olympic champions Felix Savon and Ariel Hernandez. Five members of the 12-man Cuban contingent are currently ranked first in the world by the International Amateur Boxing Association. The 24-man Russian team is lead by bantamweight Raimkul Malakhbekov, the 1996 Olympic and World Champion. The games will serve as a barometer for the young and inexperienced U.S team. The U.S. amateur boxing program disappointed in Atlanta and at last year's World Championships in Hungary. Highly touted, 18-year-old welterweight Larry Mosley and light welterweight Ricardo Williams Jr. represent the future of U.S amateur program, while Darnell Wilson (light middleweight) and DaVarryl Williamson (heavyweight) have extensive international experience and serve as the senior members of the squad. Swimmers include Alexsandr Popov and Denis Pankratov of Russia and American Jenny Thompson, who won three relay golds at Atlanta. There is no men's soccer and the women's competition will be a four-team, two-day event on July 25th and 27th. Sparked by Mia Hamm, the United States won the gold medal at the Atlanta Games and has an all-time record of 136-31-12. The U.S. will host the women's World Cup next year.
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